2007+Position+Paper

The Newest Employee By Shirleen Augustine

The young man felt slightly nervous. He appeared nicely dressed and well groomed. In his hand he held a typed resume and a completed job application. Upon entering the personnel office he shook the employer’s hand and prepared to answer questions just as he had practiced. He was on his way to being this business’ newest employee.

Just how did this young man arrive at this point? His journey began nine months ago as a student at BHS.

The teacher had asked the students, “When you get out of school, what are your plans?”

“I will get a job. I will need money to buy all the things I need,” the young man replied. “Then, I will rent an apartment and live on my own.”

“We are going to work on giving you the skills you will need to be successful and reach your goal,” the teacher explained. “Let’s get started.”

The teacher and the students worked on many skills. Vocabulary was a part of each week’s lessons. Knowing and understanding words helps the students to be able to express themselves both orally and in writing. Vocabulary will also help them to understand what they read. Job application forms will be easier to complete. Questions from and conversations with future employers, landlords, and service providers in the community will make sense, and the students will be able to respond accordingly.

Through a variety of writing activities, the teacher asked the students to problem solve, to ask for assistance, to inform, and to show appreciation. Future situations that require a written response will be much easier due to the practice they had in class.

Using correct conventions when writing was practiced continuously throughout the school year. The best-written sentences will lose their impact if the conventions are poor. The students worked on spelling their personal information correctly. They also created a wallet card that contained accurate personal information, with correct spelling, that could be used as a resource when filling out forms.

Reading, reading, and more reading. The teacher provided assorted reading opportunities almost on a daily basis. The class read the newspaper and learned about the community, current events, and new laws. The class read the want ads to investigate job opportunities and the comics to discuss social interactions.

The teacher wanted the students to realize that reading is a part of their everyday lives. The students read signs, product labels, phone books, and maps.

Often the teacher would turn their reading assignments into more writing activities.

“Let’s make a grocery list from the Dillons Ad,” she would say.

“Let’s write the dialogue for the characters in the cartoon,” she would say.

“Let’s complete the job application to go with that job opening,” she would say.

“Let’s write the questions and answers that could happen in the job interview, that will go with the job application you completed for the job opening we read,” she would say.

The students worked diligently throughout the year, completing all the reading and writing assignments.

Now, it is May. The students look toward the summer and the opportunities it will bring. The young man, prepared with the training he received in school, is ready to go to his first job interview.

An Oxymoron of Learning By Samantha Neill**
 * Sweet Sorrow:

When I reflect on my own learning experiences, both as a student and teacher, the words “sweet sorrow” come to mind. I find myself asking “How is it that a person can feel these two contrasting emotions about learning at the same time?”

As a student, I loved school. I did my homework. I participated in class and every other possible activity that I could find to fill up my days. I soaked up the content in my English classes – the discussions, the laughter, the characters, the writing, the ability to clearly communicate. I was very fortunate to have passionate, knowledgeable teachers – Ms. Jewel, Mr. Manes, and Mr. Lind – all dedicated to their craft of teaching English.

Ms. Jewel, a greatly unappreciated and overly qualified middle school teacher, made grammar and sentences come alive as she scribbled notes on the board with florescent chalk and held us accountable for our learning with both major and minor tests. We learned the lessons of responsibility and consequences of not meeting high-expectations on our homework, for she expected our best work. She also introduced us to Jean Louise “Scout” Finch, and we learned about a loss of childhood innocence as we students struggled with losing our own inner child.

Mr. Manes was not your typical English teacher, a former football coach, he brought a new perspective to Sophomore English. He could make a class laugh at the drop of a dime, and then have us crying by the end of the hour. While reading to us, the characters seemed to jump out of the pages as he put all of his gusto behind his reading of Brutus and Cyrano De Bergerac, all the while teaching us the origins of our language and the basics of research.

Mr. Lind, my Junior English teacher, made us thirsty for knowledge, and he quenched our thirst with the passion of Revolutionary literature, the insight of the Fireside Poets, and the wit and wisdom of Mark Twain. Unlike most teachers, he showed interest in the dialogue that we contributed to class and actually appreciated our high school epiphanies. We learned about Hester Prynne, a woman scorned, as most of us were dealing with the feelings of betrayal and broken hearts. We found comfort and pride in writing, be it essays, poetry, or journals.

As I think of my high school experience, I think about how “sweet” it was for me to be inspired by these great teachers. I feel fortunate to have attended a public school before the fun and creativity were guided by state assessments. I know that I took those exams, but unlike my students today, I cannot tell you if I scored exemplary or proficient because it did not matter. I learned through experiences both in and out of class, some of which were driven by standards; most of them, however, were driven by my own curiosities about life and the world around me.

Now that I have been teaching for nearly five years, I feel “sorrow” for my students. I fear they will leave my class and not be inspired about learning. I fear they will not empathize with George as he makes the decision to shoot his best friend. I fear they will not feel a part of the courtroom as Atticus Finch argues to save the life of a fellow human being. I fear they will not be able to write poems or short stories because creative writing has been put on the chopping block. I fear that students will not be able to think critically, but will be able to take an online exam.

I will be the teacher who inspires learning in my classroom through the reading and writing of great literature. I will be the teacher who cannot speak after George has made a decision most men could never make – to do what is right, knowing that he will be alone and no longer will he hear or speak “I got you, an you got me.” I will be the teacher who puts so much passion into reading Tom Robinson’s trial scene that students are proud of Atticus and his values and confused, much like Jem, about the guilty verdict given to an innocent man because of the color of his skin. I will model creative writing so that my students can express themselves in a world where people are losing the ability to communicate. I will be the teacher who continues to educate herself in order to learn new ways to teach what students will need to know to be successful on assessments without drilling and killing the standards. I will be the teacher who can make learning “sweet” as my teachers did for me, so that the oxymoron “sweet sorrow” can remain a part of Shakespeare and not my students’ memories of Mrs. Neill’s English class.

Then Try Again to Get It Right!
 * Why All Students Should Write….

By Dan Whisler**

Writing is a process, It is not an innate gift; They must practice, practice, practice, If test scores you want to lift.

Far more important than test scores, Is the success they’ll have in life; For students who have trouble writing, May find their days filled with much strife!

It matters not the class you teach, Communication is a must; “It can be done without writing,” you say? And hit the Standard of Excellence, I trust?!

Far more than a form of expression, Writing is a vital daily skill; “And who needs this?” you wonder? Each and every student will!

At both intra- and interpersonal levels, As each relationship starts to build, With each little step of the process, Every student becomes more skilled.

“The best writing is rewriting,” It is just a place to start; As students strive to find the words, To match the feelings in their heart.

It will make a difference for our students, If for them we take the time, To provide them with some feedback, Even if it doesn’t rhyme!

(Dedicated to My Favorite Class)
 * "Writing Is About....."--** **Marilyn Darnell** (ANDREW, PLEASE CENTER THIS WORK--THANKS!)


 * A**g-o-niz-ing about whether what you’ve written will mean something to someone.
 * B**eginning!!--brainstorming! webbing! organizing!--putting your pen to paper and running with it!
 * C**reating a letter, a poem, a story, a note--anything that is authentic and you.
 * D**aring to mix words and ideas together to see if they will explode!
 * E**diting and re-editing because you want your work to be better than “good enough!”
 * F**ormulating: role, audience, format, topic; this process will help you float any boat, er--raft.
 * G**esticulating with words! unleash those letters! let them D--A--n--c--E ! ? across the page!!
 * H**olding on to memories; record your dreams your failures, that first date, that first kiss ;-)
 * I**ntroducing yourself to others, but also introducing you......to you!!
 * J**umping into a dark, icy-cold pool of water, not knowing who or what’s on the bottom.
 * K**nowing who you are, what you believe in, and what you STAND for.
 * L**oving the challenge of creating but dreading the possibility of failing.
 * M**ining, with hopes of digging up the cup that holds absolute truth and meaning,
 * N**oodling with details, word choice, rhythm or rhyme--hoping to achieve perfection!!!
 * O**pening yourself up and sharing your vision.
 * P**ossessing a rich vocabulary to ENHANCE your writing skills.
 * Q**uestioning (?) what you read (?) hear (?) write (?) and see (?)
 * R**eincarnating ‘self’-- as you grow and evolve, you must redefine yourself.
 * S**huffling words, setting, characters, plot, ETC.--writing is exercise for the Brain!!!!
 * T**ranscending. it carries you to other times and places. (dare to go where others have never gone before)!
 * U**ndressing before others. be honest, start with the bare facts, and write what you know.
 * V**enturing into the unknown. you ask, “Where is she taking us?” “Don’t ask,” i say! i may not know!
 * W**rapping your heart and soul around your work and nurturing it till it blooms.
 * X**-ing out the last stanza of a poem after realizing ‘’it sucked!” : - ( (is using low diction for effect, ok?)
 * Y**o-yo-ing! do you submit? or polish? polish or submit? submit or polish? polish or submit?
 * Z**oning out after submitting and then celebrating those two last words, “The end!”

Position Paper By Sandy Foster
“When will we ever have to know this?” How many content-area teachers have heard that question before and cringed inwardly for lack of a satisfactory answer? As a beginning teacher more than twenty years ago, I eagerly anticipated the first year of teaching English to what I assumed was an equally excited group of seventh graders. I’d mapped out a month’s worth of lesson plans, certain I could cover nouns, verbs, and sentence structure all within the first month. At the end of week one came that disconcerting question: when are we ever going to have to know this, beside for English class? Today I am thankful to report that I quit teaching grammar, per se; now, I teach students. For too long I focused on content, believing if I could just make this “click” with them, writing improvements were sure to follow. Today (and for the past few years) I don’t even check out the grammar text. Instead, I take advantage of opportunities through their writing to try to teach the grammar, syntax, and conventions. I’ve found that in fostering creativity and self-expression, I’ve learned more about each student. I can tailor an assignment so that students are more willing to take risks. Because I can take a more personal approach to teaching, the students’ writing portfolios are filled with narratives detailing their own experiences, poetry with sharp imagery, and expository essays which explain topics as varied as the students themselves. My seventh graders have written news stories and editorials for the local paper; they’ve formulated persuasive essays in hopes of changing outdated school rules. These students have created beautiful descriptions of their heroes or best friends or favorite teachers. They have written process papers providing instructions on how to play their favorite video game or put together their new bicycle. Some have written heart-wrenching tales about their father’s death or their dysfunctional families, which make me cry. It is through the laughter and the tears that I relate to my students, not through the drill and repetition of a grammar textbook. They see me as human, with my own foibles to share, and by doing so, together we create meaning through our words on the page. They learn what a sentence should look like. Or not. Fragments work better sometimes. Can they label every word in a sentence according to its part of speech or use in the sentence? No, because I am teaching students to communicate effectively, and to me, that is far more important than the labels they will need only for another language class. They no longer ask me “when are we ever going to need this?’ The answer lies in how well they wish to communicate in a global society.

Kendra Stuever Position Paper

The First Day ME: Buenas tardes. Hoy vamos a escribir. Estamos listos? THEM: Ahhh, Senorita Stuever, we don’t wanna write! ME: Vamos a escribir SEIS parafos hoy. THEM: Do we have to? THEM: SIX paragraphs??? Can we do one? THEM: BORING. THEM: Isn’t this for English class? ME: Vamos a escribir en espanol. Yo voy a escribir tambien. THEM: WHAT!!!!! THEM: No way. I can’t even speak Spanish. I refuse to do this. THEM: Can I go to the nurse? ME: Tenemos treinta minutos para escribir. THEM: Thirty minutes for SIX paragraphs? I don’t think so. THEM: Ms. Stuever, my coach said he wants me to come down to his room this hour. ME: Vamos a empezar con una explicacion de la clase. THEM: What is there to explain? THEM: Do we have to start with this? THEM: Are we ‘posed to ‘splain the peeps or the walls? THEM: I hate writing. THEM: This sucks. ME: Despues de la explicacion de la clase, puedes escribir cualquier cosa. THEM: ANYTHING? ME: CUALQUIER COSA. THEM: Can we tell you about our boyfriends? THEM: What about our ‘after-school activities’? HA! THEM: Can I write “blah, blah, blah”? ME: Puedes usar diccionarios, pero no puedes hablar. THEM: Can we ask YOU questions? THEM: I gotta pee. THEM: I guess this isn’t that bad. At least we can use dictionaries. ME: Vamos a empezar. Tienes un lapiz? Tienes papel? Listos? EMPIECEN. (quiet) (thirty minutes later) ME: Esta bien. Tienen Ustedes seis parafos? THEM: Shhh. THEM: I’m still writing... THEM: Can you check mine? It’s pretty good. THEM: Is it okay if we did more? THEM: Well, I’m, like, tired, so can I, like, get a drink? ME: Si. Puedes tomar el agua. THEM: Ms. Stuever, check it out. I added pictures! THEM: We ain’t gonna read ‘em out loud, are we? THEM: NO WAY. This is just for Ms. Stuever to read. (smiles) THEM: Can we do this again tomorrow? (one REALLY big smile) ME: Por supuesto. Este ano, vamos a escribir cada dia. THEM: Oh good! I can keep telling you about... nevermind. You’ll find out. (bell rings) The Last Day ME: Okay, let’s have our last writing assignment of the year. Ready? THEM: Podemos escribir en espanol? THEM: Cuantos parafos vamos a escribir? THEM: Estamos listos! ME: Today we are going to take what we have learned about writing in Spanish and apply it to English. THEM: Ahhh, do we have to do English? THEM: Can we use this in our English class? THEM: How long does it have to be? ME: Let’s write six paragraphs. You have written quite a bit this year. Your first paragraph needs to tell me what you learned. Ready? Start. (quiet) (15 minutes later) ME: Let’s stop now. It has only been taking you guys this long to write your 6 paragraphs in Spanish, so I am expecting a completely polished piece. THEM: Ms. Stuever, I think Spanish is easier. The verbs are all the same. THEM: Dictionaries would have been helpful. THEM: Mines ain’t even close to being perfect. ME: Well, let me start with mine: At the beginnning of this year, I gave my class an assignment that required them to write for 30 minutes. My students grumbled. When I told them they had to write in Spanish, they whined. We did the assignment anyway. Their first drafts were about six paragraphs of words thrown together. Their verbs did not agree with their subjects, the writing lacked descriptions, and there was no sense of purpose. The worst writing I have ever seen sat in my box, waiting to be graded. I exhausted myself trying to make sense of those first ones. The second drafts contained less mistakes, but they eliminated everything interesting. They still had no descriptions. No one even tried to write poetry or song lyrics. Everyone’s paragraphs sounded the same, even though we had lots of perspectives. We threw out our drafts. We started over. We tried free writing. We wrote acrostic poems. We wrote in Spanglish. We wrote in Spanish. We journaled. We crafted letters to penpals across the world. We threw out our new drafts. In between that first day and today, all of my students have learned how to communicate with the written word. We shared, grew, and learned life lessons from each other. We gained a better perspective on the world. I decided we should write in English this last day. My students learned to write with flair, correctly, and in a foreign language. Today I am showing you how you can do that in any language. Remember that no matter where you find yourself in life, writing can make anything better. (bell rings)

Dear Parents, 2007 – 2008

As you know our classroom theme, C.A.R.S. stands for Caring and Responsible Students. It is my hope that we will share the responsibility of providing what your child needs to become a skilled writer.

My job, at school, is to fertilize your child’s growth as a writer with writing lessons and projects, guided practice, time to write, author’s conferences, editing groups and real reasons to write. As a teacher, I have this job for one year.

Your job, at home, is to explain your child’s world to them and when asked, teach them what a word means. Read books and tell stories to them since you are the “word coach” who gave them the words they use to speak. Parents have this job for a lifetime. Sharing stories and words will fill your child’s head with tools needed for writing. Kids cannot write with words they do not know, so together, we must give them knowledge of many words.

Our library is stacked with “Story books” and “I Want to Know About” books. Have your child bring home a book full of something they want to learn. Talk about the pictures. They don’t need you to read book about sharks, with words beyond their years, but you //can// read captions under pictures and restate the information in words they understand. This will increase their understanding of the real world and provide facts of interest for them to write about or illustrate.

My writing lessons often begin with a story, poem, sentence or skit to show students examples of what we will learn and practice. We talk about the ideas presented and brainstorm a list of words we want to use onto charts. As students write their rough drafts, they refer to the charts and a “Words I Use When I Write Book” to copy dictionary spellings of words we need. A rubric is taught next, to show students how to rate the quality of their rough draft. Seeing the rubric often helps them know how to improve what they have written.

Early in the year, I project copies of students’ writing and a scoring rubric onto the whiteboard. During editing and revision lessons, individuals use the InterWrite Schoolpad and wireless technology to write editing marks and make the changes suggested by the class or by me. Later in the year, trios work in editing teams to help each other improve the quality of their rough drafts. During this time I move from group to group or meet individuals in an author’s conferences.

Finally, students publish what they’ve written in their neatest handwriting and illustrate to match the meaning of their words. This collection of activities is called “The Writing Process” by educators. Many projects require publication so a writing grade can be taken. However, students often write without going through an entire process. Our writing spirals and folders hold our rough drafts until we have a collection from which to choose. Students like having a choice about which pieces to publish. I believe we improve our writing skills by writing often and for many reasons and audiences.

Between September 2007 and May 2008, your child will have practiced writing naming words (nouns), action words (verbs) describing words, (adjectives and adverbs), rhyming words, complete simple sentences, descriptive sentences, questions, a single paragraph, riddles, poems, short stories, directions for math skill games and science investigations, math word problems, personal and science journals, postcards, letters of thanks, a memory book, responses to stories we read or hear, captions on the computer to match photos of class events, summaries of stories, gift cards, notes and invitations to your family, and more.

I adore writing and hope by year’s end your child will too! Mrs. Rice

C. Shaffia Laue, MD, ABHM

Dashboard by Dennis Perrin

The late William Sloan Coffin, Yale University Chaplain and former head minister of the interdenominational Riverside Church in New York City had this to say about dissent.

“What the rest of us have to remember is that dissent in a democracy is not unpatriotic, what is unpatriotic is subservience to a bad policy.”

The Educators Oath I keep up in my classroom reminds me in part:

“to seek and support policies that promote quality in teaching and learning and to provide all engaged in education the opportunity to achieve excellence... to emulate personally the qualities I wish to foster, and to hold and forever honor a democratic way of life that cannot exist without disciplined, cultivated and free minds and to be persistent in my commitment to foster respect for a life of learning and respect for all students” ( http://hhs.usd308.com/perrindashboard/Educators Oath.htm )

This personal dashboard project has grown out of a sense of unease that creeps over me when I encounter what, as a career educator completing my thirtieth year, seems to me to be an increasingly out of balance overemphasis on standardized testing and its resultant implications and repercussions to the profession I so honor and the students I teach and wish to defend. Please accept this as my personal view. I respect your right to agree and/or disagree. I expect this project, at the very least, to provoke thought and raise questions. Hopefully you will see its implications as related to social responsibility and learning-centered education.

It is a personal honor for me to teach in a district historically noted for visionary leadership and managing for innovation. Indeed having graduated from Hutchinson High School, I can personally attest to the outstanding impact USD 308 educators have had upon my life. It is because of their example that I do not hesitate in forwarding this dashboard project to existing leadership of the district.

What you will find is my attempt to provide a systems perspective that focuses on results and creates value for our enterprise and its stake holders. Much data is presented that specifically addresses operational and personal learning. Indeed it is my wish that from this project, both individually and organizationally, opportunities will become available that result in measurement indicators and other assessment tools that truly focus on the future, are fair, balanced and just. Indicators that will guide instruction in such a manner as to provide meaningful learning encounters for all students at all levels all the time.

The Dashboard project is meant to be used as a presentation tool but can also be used in a nonlinear, interactive mode. Rolling over the graphics will cause changes in the main panel. Some of the graphics - the brain and chart below it - have multiple hotspots. Clicking on some of the graphics and the links at the bottom of the page will open documents for your consideration. I welcome the opportunity to present my argument for more balanced assessment and increased emphasis on whole child teaching and learning to any interested persons.

Respectfully, Dennis Perrin [|Dashboard Project] (note this project takes awhile to load on dial-up connections)